Big Town is a popular long-running radio drama featuring a corruption-fighting newspaper editor initially played from 1937 to 1942 by Edward G. Robinson in his first radio role, with echoes of the conscience-stricken tabloid editor he had played in the film Five Star Final. Edward Pawley played the lead role longer, 1943–52, in plots that made the editor more of a hands-on crime-fighter. During the later Pawley years, Big Town was adapted to film and television series, and a comic book published by DC Comics.
Richard Benjamin Haymes was an Argentinian singer, songwriter and actor. He was one of the most popular male vocalists of the 1940s and early 1950s. He was the older brother of Bob Haymes, an actor, television host, and songwriter.
George Watt Fenneman was an American radio and television announcer. Fenneman is best remembered as the show announcer and straight man on Groucho Marx's You Bet Your Life. Marx, said of Fenneman in 1976, "There never was a comedian who was any good unless he had a good straight man, and George was straight on all four sides". Fenneman, born in Peking (Beijing), China, died from respiratory failure in Los Angeles, California, on May 29, 1997, at the age of 77.
Betty Lou Gerson was an American actress, predominantly active in radio but also in film and television and as a voice actress. She is best known as the original voice of Cruella de Vil from the Disney animated film One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961) for which she was named a Disney Legend in 1996.
Harry Rudolph von Zell was an American announcer of radio programs, and an actor in films and television shows. He is best remembered for his work on The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show.
Robert Middleton was an American film and television actor known for his large size, beetle-like brows, and deep, booming voice, usually in the portrayal of ruthless villains.
Homer Durward Kirby, sometimes misspelled Dirwood or Durwood Kirby, was an American television host and announcer. He is best remembered for The Garry Moore Show in the 1950s and Candid Camera, which he co-hosted with Allen Funt from 1961 through 1966.
Richard Ollie Crane was a character actor whose career spanned three decades in films and television. His early career included many uncredited performances in feature films made in the 1940s.
The Adventures of Bill Lance is a 30-minute radio crime drama, created by J. Donald Wilson, which aired on two networks in two runs between 1944 and 1948.
The Carnation Contented Hour was a long-running radio music series, sponsored by the Carnation Milk Company, which premiered April 26, 1931 on the regional NBC West Coast network. The full network series began January 4, 1932, on the Blue Network and was broadcast for two decades until its final broadcast on CBS December 30, 1951.
Candy Matson was a radio program on NBC West Coast that aired from June 29, 1949, to May 20, 1951. It centered on Candy Matson, a female private investigator with a wry sense of humor and a penthouse on Telegraph Hill in San Francisco. The program was notable for having a striking female character "without a trace of squeamishness" as well as a veiled gay character in Candy's best friend Rembrandt Watson, voiced by Jack Thomas. Candy's love interest was police detective Ray Mallard, voiced by Henry Leff. The announcer was Dudley Manlove. Actors frequently heard in minor roles were Helen Kleeb, John Grober, Mary Milford and Hal Burdick. In addition to the show being set in San Francisco, it was produced at San Francisco Radio City.
Club Fifteen is a radio program in the United States that featured popular music. It was broadcast weeknights 30 June 1947 – 21 December 1951. Then, it aired Monday, Wednesday, and Friday nights until 16 January 1953. The name reflected the program's length—15 minutes. The Historical Dictionary of Old-Time Radio noted that the show "is sometimes listed as Bob Crosby's Club Fifteen because Bob Crosby was the original star, although Dick Haymes took over in 1949-50." The program was sponsored by Campbell Soups.
The Frank Sinatra Show was a title applied—in some cases specifically and in other cases generically—to several radio musical programs in the United States, some of which had other distinct titles as indicated below. Singer Frank Sinatra starred in the programs, some of which were broadcast on CBS, while others were on NBC.
Defense Attorney is an American old-time radio crime drama. It was broadcast on ABC from July 6, 1951, to December 30, 1952. It was also known as The Defense Rests.
The Dick Haymes Show is an American old-time radio musical variety program. It was broadcast on NBC from June 20, 1944, to October 9, 1945, and on CBS from October 13, 1945, until July 1, 1948. It was also carried by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
The Greatest Story Ever Told is an American old-time radio religious drama. It was broadcast on ABC from January 26, 1947, until December 30, 1956. Beginning July 25, 1948, the program was also broadcast via shortwave radio to 58 other countries by the World Wide Broadcasting Foundation.
Hallmark Playhouse is an American old-time radio dramatic anthology series. It was broadcast on CBS from June 10, 1948 until February 1, 1953, and was described by one author as "a program that consistently produced the highest levels of production quality and value." Beginning on February 8, 1953, the program underwent changes of title, host, and format. It was broadcast as The Hallmark Hall of Fame until March 27, 1955, still on CBS.
I Deal in Crime was an American old-time radio detective drama. It was broadcast on ABC from January 21, 1946, until October 18, 1947, and on Mutual from October 25, 1947 until September 4, 1948. In 1947, the title was changed to Ross Dolan, Detective.
Johnny Fletcher is a fictional character created by Frank Gruber. Fletcher is a con-man and reluctant amateur detective. The character was the protagonist of several mystery novels published between 1940 and 1964. Additionally, he was featured in a feature film adaptation scripted by Gruber, and a short lived radio series.
